Su Bin, accused by FBI of hacking, denied bail in Vancouver

Chinese businessman with Canadian permanent resident status arrested in B.C. on U.S. warrant

Su Bin, a citizen of China and permanent resident of Canada, is shown in this photo taken at a U.S. border crossing in 2011. He is accused by the FBI of giving instructions to hackers in China that helped them steal information from the computers of military contractors. (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation)

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A judge has refused bail for a Chinese citizen who owns a home in Vancouver and is accused by U.S. authorities of leading a sophisticated scheme to steal military secrets.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen ordered the continued detention of Su Bin, whose permanent residency in Canada was revoked as he faces possible extradition to the U.S.

The FBI alleges Su was the mastermind of a plot to electronically steal information from American military contractor Boeing and sell it to companies in China.

This image shows a page of the flight test plan for the F-35, the world's most advanced multi-role fighter aircraft, from an internal company document that Su Bin allegedly acquired and translated before passing on to contacts in China. (U.S. criminal court complaint June 27, 2014)

Cullen said Su's connections to Canada appeared to be "illusory" and merely a base for his wife and two children and there's a significant risk the man would flee Canada if released.

Su was arrested by RCMP on June 28, and an extensive FBI affidavit outlining the spying allegations against him has been filed in court, although the U.S. has not yet formally requested extradition.

Su's next court appearance in B.C. has been set for Aug. 27, while a hearing date for his appeal on the immigration process has yet be set.

Su Bin — also known as Stephen Su and Stephen Subin —​ is a 48-year-old Beijing businessman and the owner and manager of Lode-Tech, or Lode Technologies Co., an aviation technology company based in China with an office in B.C.

Su was arrested in B.C. on June 28 on a U.S. warrant.

U.S. officials allege he gave instructions to hackers in China that helped them zero in on which secrets to steal from the computers of military contractors such as Boeing for the benefit of Chinese aviation companies.

The FBI alleges he worked with two unnamed Chinese hackers to get the data between 2009 and 2013, and that he attempted to sell some of the information to state-owned Chinese companies.

The three alleged hackers purportedly targeted fighter jets such as the F-22 and the F-35 as well as Boeing's C-17 military cargo aircraft program.